Part-Time/Casual Preschool Program

Part-Time/Casual Preschool Program

Our Part-Time/Casual Preschool Program welcomes children aged 2.5 to 5 years, with a maximum group size of 16 children.

In our program we strive to understand and support learning in each child as an individual.

Our Part Time Preschool Program is structured with snack, lunch, nap and outdoor play times. Parents provide lunch and afternoon snack where applicable and Mothercraft Ottawa provides the morning snack. All the children follow the same daily schedule. Most of our children have regular days and times from week to week while other children use the program on a more casual, as needed basis.

One part-time and three two full-time Educatorsfacilitate the program maintaining Ministry requirements and building on what is interesting and exciting to the children as inspiration for learning activities. Our daily activities are designed to develop language, fine motor, gross motor, cognitive, and social skills of the children.

Parent Handbook

Upcoming Events

The core values underlying our Part Time Preschool Program

Special Attention

Our Educator-to-child ratio is 1:8 throughout most of the day as we believe small groups allow Educators to understand specific individual needs, strengths and interests

Teamwork

We believe that is important to have a strong connection with our families so that we can work together as a team to nurture our preschoolers’ development

Individual Approach

As Educators we understand and appreciate the fact that every child is unique in how they learn, play and explore the world

Learning Through Play

Play is the most important way that young children learn.

We believe that children learn through play so we have designed a program to make their learning fun! Through play the children challenge themselves. Play is the way in which they learn to deal with tension, stress and to try new things. Through play children tell the stories of their lives. Our Educators watch and listen carefully to unlock the meaning of this play, helping children to strengthen their language, fine motor, gross motor, cognitive, and social skills.
In our Part-time Preschool Program your child will build friendships, learn problem solving skills, and prepare for kindergarten. Opportunities for learning are incorporated into all areas of play. Our daily activities may include:

Creative activities

Creative activities

include things such as collage, painting with variety of mediums and tools, a variety of modelling clays. We focus on the process, not the product.

Sensory play

Sensory play

is enjoyed by all the children in the program. They are using this time to explore their senses and often a love of getting messy.

Block play

Block play

is a time to construct and break down things. It is great fun to build a tall tower and then knock it down. It gives us a time to interact with our peers and practice our cooperative skills

Dramatic play

Dramatic play

helps children identify with the world around them and helps them to understand who they are becoming. It also begins building life skills for the future

Cognitive activities

Cognitive activities

help us start to develop our problem solving skills such as how does the puzzle go together, and to learn new concepts including colours, shapes etc.

Gross Motor activities

Gross Motor activities

give us a sense of how our bodies work. We can jump, run, crawl, climb, twirl, skip. With active play and physical exploration we are gaining self-control and coordination.

Mothercraft provides nutritional, delicious morning snacks. The children are required to bring a nutritious lunch and afternoon snack from home. We are a nut-free centre, which includes any food and beverages with labels that read, “May contain traces of nuts/tree nuts” and/or “made in a factory that processes nuts”. We ask that you help us to keep the children safe as we have children who are severely allergic to nuts/tree nuts. If we have any doubt that something may contain nuts we will not serve it at daycare. Please be sure to label everything in your child’s lunch box with their name. Drinks need to be inside your lunch container.

Foods that need to be kept cold or hot can be packed into a thermos to keep the food at a safe temperature. Cold foods can also be stored with an ice pack or frozen juice box. The Public Health Department expects that parents will have an ice pack in their child’s lunch bag for the travel time from home to daycare.

A lot of parents wonder what to pack in their child’s lunch. Here are some suggestions from Canada’s Food Guide that you might find helpful:

Step one
Think food groups. Aim to have at least three of the four food groups represented in your child’s lunch. Check out Canada’s Food Guide for helpful information.

Step two
Think outside the sandwich! Get creative when choosing items for your child’s lunch. Sometimes changing something as simple as the type of grain. For example, using pita, flatbread, tortilla, or cereal instead of bread can make lunch more interesting for your little eater. Here are some ideas to get you started. Mix and match the options in the different columns to get a variety of lunch meals.

We offer all the children a change to rest their bodies after a busy morning at play. In our sleep room we play CD stories for the children to listen to while they rest. We have blankets and sleep toys available, but your child can also bring their own from home. We provide flashlights, lanterns and books for those children that do not fall asleep but wish to remain in the quiet sleep room. There is always an Educator in the sleep room with the children.
Children who are not asleep after an hour of resting quietly on their beds may join our Wakers’ Program. In the Wakers’ Program your child enjoys playing with a smaller group of children. If your child is in our program for less than 6 hours and does not need to sleep, they will be in the Wakers’ Program for the full 2 hours. The Wakers’ Program includes quieter art activities, puzzles, dress-up, building structures, printing, cutting, etc. The children help determine what activities are going to happen.

We go outside twice a day, all year long, so please make sure the children have the clothes they need to be able to enjoy the great outdoors. Every child will have a cubby in which to hang their outdoor clothes and their backpack. Their backpack should include at least one full change of clothes (socks, underwear, pants, and shirt). Bathroom accidents occur when your child is busy playing or when he/she is learning to use the toilet. Diapers and wipes can also be stored in their bag or their cubby. If your child is still wearing diapers please supply a minimum of 3 per day. Leave the supplies in the cubbies and we will gather them as required throughout the day.

We also have messy play activities and water play. All of these things often require a change of clothes.

We have three basic rules in this program: safe bodies, safe feelings, and safe equipment. By providing a play-space with fewer restrictions and rules, we believe that the children are more in control of their environment. It is a place that truly belongs to them. This in turn creates a room full of happy children, happy families and happy Educators.

We are excited to have you and your child in our program. We are here to answer any of your questions and to share information with you about your child’s day.
There is an information board outside our door where you can read about our daily activities, special events, and the supply Educators who might be working with us that day.Please make sure you have I.D every time you pick up your child in case there is a supply teacher working so they can verify your information.